The Rise of the Targeted Attack

As this SC Magazine article points out, the number of costly, targeted attacks is on the rise. While alarming, the reasoning behind the uptick is understandable. Specifically, this trend is occurring because it makes the attacks more effective and also because it makes them harder to detect. By being targeted and selective, the attack is less likely to trip alarms on the security perimeter. At the same time, targeting reduces the probability of a new exploit being noticed by anti-malware and other security companies, which would then add its signature to their detection rules.